Saturday, 10 January 2015

No Resolutions

Instead, I’m making predictions. I will have the comfort of knowing that my predictions are much more likely to come true than any resolutions I might make. So here they are:

1. I predict that this is the year that I finally get a hearing aid. It’s not nice for my friends and family to have to repeat everything two or three times before my face lights up in understanding. I must say this, though: they shouldn’t be speaking so softly, or at such a high pitch, and they should never mumble. I don’t know why this is so difficult for them, but they don’t seem to be able to change. So I will have to accommodate them and be the change I want to see.

Something to look forward to? There are actually a huge amount of cartoons on the subject of hearing aids. This was one of the tamer ones.

2. This is the year I will be doing battle with my girth. Several years ago, I lost 30 pounds and it stayed off. But about a month ago I stepped on the scales and noticed just the teeniest, weeniest upward creep. I have not stepped on the scale again. Who wants to do that at Christmas time, anyway? But now it’s a new year. My prediction is that when I next step on the scale, the upward creep will have taken bolder, bigger steps. Sigh. I will make no predictions as to who will win this battle, me or my girth. But I will give it my best shot. Yes!

3. This is an easy one, like shooting fish in a barrel: I will start projects that never get finished. In defense of myself, this is not a unique problem amongst creative people. The most creative people I know are the ones who aren’t afraid to step up to the plate to act on a new idea. If it doesn’t work out, well, so what? You can’t go wrong with new ideas: either you create something unique, or you learn something about yourself and your abilities. So bring it on!

4. The Resident Sweetie and I will have differences of opinion, and no matter how much we resolve that we will do better the next time some controversial – or should I say adversarial? – subject arises, we probably won’t. We will huff and puff and steam silently, we’ll have imaginary conversations in our heads that always leave ourselves as the winners of the debate, we’ll stomp around for a while, and then we’ll make up. That’s life. Well, anyway, that’s our life. I hear some people have serene relationships that purr along like a well-oiled motor. Our marital engine has been known to backfire and blow a gasket, but it’s a well-loved engine and we’re quite fond of its idiosyncracies. We’ll keep it.

5. The house will always need cleaning before company comes. Always.

6. I will have library fines to pay. The RS will say to me, “The Library called. They want their pound of flesh.” (If only I could pay my fines with a pound of flesh ... but no, it's money they want.) I will pay them, gladly. It is the price of having a wonderful world of wonder at my fingertips. And speaking of books, I predict that many, many times this year, I will start a good book, and stay up till way past my bedtime because I need to find out what happened. This is even though I know how it ends, because I couldn’t resist peeking. Gasp! Yes, I’m one of those horrible people who often checks out the ending half-way through. And no, it doesn’t spoil the book for me at all. Honest.

Current reads. Guess where we hope to go this summer? Holland ... and France.

7. Tough but true: I will make many mistakes, mess up, do things and say things I shouldn’t have, and not do things that I should have done. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is forgiveness: divine forgiveness, self-forgiveness, and forgiveness from the injured party. I love that, and I love the relief that it brings.

8. I predict that I will hear the angels sing. Meredith at Fabricland told me that if I bought a certain pair of very expensive scissors, I would hear the angels sing when I used them. So I did (with the gift certificate the RS thoughtfully and obediently gave me for Christmas), and she’s right. I heard the Hallelujah chorus loud and clear. I predict I’ll hear the angels sing lots this year.

New scissors and new project. What more could I want? (Hearing aids? Don't need them to hear the angels sing! )

9. I predict that life will be a fine balancing act between good times and dull, between hard work and blessed rest, between solitude and companionship, between illness and health, between joy and sorrow, and so much more. That’s life, in all its glory. And as the “auld Scots” at church remind me, “Och, aye, dearie, we’re still on the richt side of the sod, so there’s no need to blubber.” (Make sure you gargle the “ch” sounds and roll your rrrrrs when you read that.)

10. And because we can predict all we want, but only Who knows what will happen, I predict that often I -- and you, too -- will be surprised by the unexpected. (Maybe I'll step on the scale, and my girth will be no girthier. Maybe you'll drop in unexpectedly and our house will be clean ... enough. Maybe after I take the hearing test, they'll say, "Nope! You don't need hearing aids." Hee-hee!)

I'm hoping your year -- and mine too -- will be full of delightful surprises.

Post a Comment

Follow by Email

About Me

Hi! My name is Jessie Schut. I'm a quilt artist and a writer. Like a crow, I love to communicate. If you are a new visitor, scroll down to the first two posts to learn more about the reason for this blog. I welcome your comments and feedback.